Changes to unpaid parental leave will not disrupt payroll, CIPP finds

Working parents have the right to unpaid time off to look after their child up until their child’s 18th birthday, but if changes are made to how employees take their unpaid leave, could it prove to be a headache for payroll departments?

Currently, employees are able to take up to four weeks’ worth of unpaid parental leave in a year, which must be taken as whole weeks.

However, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) has launched a poll alongside the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to find out how this may impact payroll teams.

The poll asked respondents if it would be difficult for payroll professionals to adjust pay accordingly if changes were made.

77% of those surveyed stated that the change from full weeks’ worth of leave to leave taken in blocks of days would not make it difficult for payroll teams to amend pay accordingly.

In contrast, 23% shared that they believed it would make things more difficult.

The CIPP explained: “As with all changes that are made to employee pay, there would need to be a real focus on communication in order to make this a success.”

It added that all relevant departments would need to liaise with payroll with sufficient time for them to make any amendments to employee pay, but noted that if a deadline was missed, the adjustment would potentially be made in a subsequent pay period.

“We look forward to seeing whether changes to the way in which unpaid parental leave can be taken come to fruition and will keep the payroll profession updated as soon as we know any more,” the CIPP added.